The Nachzehrer ('after-devourer') is a form of revenant documented primarily in northern Germany, Silesia, and adjacent Slavic regions. Unlike a typical vampire, it did not rise from its grave — instead it remained in the coffin, gnawing its own burial clothes and flesh. This act supernaturally drained the vitality from its living relatives, who sickened and died in sequence.
Remains in the grave in its corpse form but is semi-animated — its eyes may be open, it gnaws constantly, and it holds the thumb of one hand in the other fist. The gnawing sounds could sometimes be heard from above ground.
Drained life-force from living relatives through a supernatural sympathetic link. Could cause an entire family to die one after another. In some accounts, if it stopped gnawing, the bell of the local church would ring of its own accord.
Weaknesses
- ritualPlacing a coin in the corpse's mouth before burial
- ritualDecapitation and placing head between the legs at exhumation
Wards
- ritualBurying the suspected corpse with a stone in the mouth
- substanceGarlic in the grave
Alp
A German nightmare demon — often the projected spirit of a living person — who sits on sleeping victims' chests causing terrifying dreams, sleep paralysis, and wasting illness.
Baldr
Baldr (Old Norse Baldr; Old English Bældæġ; Old High German Balder/Palter) is a god in Germanic mythology. In the Norse branch he is named as a son of Odin and Frigg and as a member of the Aesir, attested alongside brothers such as Thor and Váli in the supplied sources.
Deutsche Mythology
A collection of mythological narratives representing the collective myths, legends, and beliefs of ancient Germanic cultures. (Note: 1. Power tier: Primordial (Deutsche Mythology as a collective mythological narratives does not have supernatural abilities and behaviors attributed to it; rather, it contains those of individual Germa)
Erlking
A sinister Germanic spirit of forest and mist who takes children — appearing to them as a welcoming figure while adults see nothing, the child dying in its parent's arms.
Fairy
A class of anthropomorphic supernatural beings found across multiple European folk traditions, fairies are magical, liminal entities variously described as spirits, an older race, or enchanted people; their depiction ranges from human-sized to diminutive and their attributes and moral alignment vary by region and period.
Fulla
Fulla (Old Norse Fulla; Old High German Volla/Folla) is a named goddess (ásynja) in the Germanic tradition, attested as Frigg's trusted attendant and confidante in Old Norse sources and as a named singer in the Old High German Merseburg horse-healing charm.
Germanic Dragon
A large, serpentine creature from Germanic mythology that hoards gold and shares characteristics with cosmic beings. (Note: 1. Power tier should be Ancient instead of Primordial, as the source describes them sharing characteristics with "other dragons in European mythology", implying a level below cosmic. 2. Remove "venomo)
Household deity
A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home and its members, cared for inside domestic spaces and integrated into everyday household ritual. The category spans distinct cultural instantiations — hearth goddesses, ancestral family kami, and animistic house-spirits — and is characterized by reciprocal relations of offering and protection rather than cosmic sovereignty.
Jötunn (Jotun / Giant)
A jötunn (Old Norse jǫtunn; plural jötnar) is a class of powerful non-human beings in Norse/Germanic myth that exist alongside gods, dwarfs, elves, and humans. They commonly dwell across boundaries (e.g., Jötunheimr) and appear ambivalently as adversaries, kin, spouses, and participants in cosmological narratives.
Kobold
The German household and mine spirit — a mischievous but potentially helpful small being who attaches to a household, bringing luck or disaster depending on how it is treated.
Lindworm
The lindworm is a European serpent/dragon‑like monster attested across Northern, Western and Central Europe. Varieties range from limbless giant forest serpents in Scandinavian lore to two‑limbed or winged dragonic forms in Central European art and legend; it appears in both treasure‑guardian and cursed‑bridegroom narrative cycles.
Little people
A cross-cultural folkloric category of diminutive supernatural or semi-supernatural beings found worldwide. They occupy liminal places near humans (woods, mounds, anthills, mines, shorelines) and range from helpful household spirits to mischievous tricksters or dangerous guardians of places and resources.
Community Record
- [1]Tractat von dem Kauen und Schmatzen der Todten. Ranft, Michael. 1734. Leipzig.academic
- [2]Vampires, Burial, and Death. Barber, Paul. 1988. Vampires, Burial, and Death. Yale University Press.academic